A Moment to be Real
by ZheM
Summary: He didn't know where the mission had gone wrong or how he had been caught, but here he was, hanging limply, suspended by only his arms.


I'm supposed to be finishing all those drabble requests, but I had to do a little something for myself. : )

This will be my 30th story posted on here, discounting all the Gundam Wing ones I shouldn't have taken down. It's exciting!

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A Moment to Be Real 

ZoZ

He didn't know where the mission had gone wrong or how he had been caught, but here he was, hanging limply and suspended by only his arms. Most of his clothing had been torn away, though they had left him with the little bit of modesty his underwear provided. The room around him was dark though a single beam of light shown down on the rock floor ten feet from him, illuminating nothing, only holding complete darkness at bay. He was alone, that much was easy to discern. A thick trail of blood that seemed to originate around his bound wrists had long since begun making its way down his stretched out torso. His toes barely brushed the floor, smearing through a cooling, sticky substance with each of his movements.

Blue eyes strained, trying to make out what it was but even with the single source of light it was nearly impossible to see. The room smelled of blood, though not all of it was fresh and for that he was grateful. It meant that there probably weren't a lot of soulless corpses grinning at him in his predicament.

He leaned his head back to stare at what he assumed was the ceiling and let out a not so quiet groan. He had no way of knowing how long he had been chained in this position but the complaints of his shoulder muscles screamed to the shinobi that he had been hanging there for more than a few hours.

The shinobi flexed his finger and was dismayed to find that, for at least a little while after he was unchained, his hands would be practically useless. He shifted with a sigh and grimaced when the chains dug further into the torn flesh of his lower forearms.

Where the hell was he, he wondered, wishing for at least a slightly better light so he could properly look himself over. Nothing hurt too terribly, as long as he didn't move, but that meant nothing. Hours of reduced blood flow took the feeling away from the most injured of areas. And while he was grateful for the lack of pain, it also prevented him from getting anywhere near a good idea of his injuries.

The shinobi almost wished aloud for a good, skilled medic nin before realizing he had something better than that. Or at least he should have.

_Kyuubi_ he called out hesitantly to the monster always buried beneath the surface of his consciousness. A growl was the only response he received and to him that was even more worrisome than a death threat.

_Kyuubi__, where are we,_ he asked, assuming the demon fox would know everything he didn't.

- I don't know, kit. They've done something to us.-

The blond shifted uncomfortably, giving the chains above him a cautious tug. A small hiss escaped him as the metal dug a little deeper and a new trail of blood began its merry way down his right arm. _My arms aren't going to be worth shit when we get out of this._

-I don't think we're going to get out of this one, kit. They've blocked me somehow.- The fox replied irritably, giving the blond the impression he was stalking in his cage.

_How is that even possible?_

-Isn't that what they did to the one-tail?-

The words settled into his mind before they clicked and he began tugging viciously against the chains binding his wrists.

"Oh fuck no," he growled.

The blood coating his wrists was getting thicker and he felt a moment of panic as he realized that at least for a while, the fox's chakra would not be able to heal him. He panted in a flash of fear as he tried to look around the room again. Trained eyes settled on nothing in the darkness and he could hear the steady approach of footsteps.

He tried to stand stably enough to coat his hands in the blood he was losing but the chains were not long enough and his agile hands refused to cooperate with him.

A door knob somewhere in front of him began to turn and the door slowly opened to reveal two silhouettes hidden by the darkness emanating from the room they were holding him in.

He slumped, hanging by his ever more bloody wrists, and attempted to feign unconsciousness. The blond probably really needed to work on his acting skills though.

"Looks like he's awake, eh, Itachi-san?" A grating voice echoed throughout the silent room.

"Naruto-kun," a deceptively soft voice asked close to his left ear before a rough hand reached out and jerked his head up to face someone he couldn't see. "I can see that you're awake," the man hissed, tightening the painful grip he had in the other's blond hair.

"Itachi…" the chained man ground out, his mouth twisted as though the very name left a bad taste on his tongue.

"Mmm, the way you say my name, Naruto-kun… It makes me want to see you bleed." Itachi curled his long fingers into Naruto's hair, pulling chunks free with a calm flick of his wrist.

Naruto tried not to flinch, this was not the first time he had been tortured, but it was the first time the person had focused solely on his scalp. And also the first time he had had to endure it without the assistance of the Kyuubi's chakra. He would have a few uncharitable words with the Godaime when he got back to the village about Konoha shinobi's torture resistance.

Itachi's hand in his hair stilled as though he was displeased and Naruto felt a brief flash of hope that the Uchiha was bored already. –Fat chance, kit.- _Shut the hell up. You're not helping!_

"So brave, little Konoha shinobi. It won't save you today." The dark haired man turned to Kisame and nodded. The shark-like ninja stepped into the room, drawing his Samehada from his shoulder and pulling it's coverings off.

Naruto stiffened, staring at the blade as it was slowly revealed in the dim light. He knew what that thing could do, knew there was only one reason for them to bother bring it in with them. Itachi's hand softened against his hair, moving in a petting motion as though he was trying to calm him, but the blond knew it was for anything but that.

"Stay the fuck away from me," he growled in the mist-nin's general direction and Itachi's hand tightened in his hair again, pulling hard enough to make Naruto's eyes water and his teeth grit.

"Such bad manners… Though I expect it's not that surprising from him, eh, Itachi?" Kisame lifted his monstrous sword, burying it in the ground not three inches from Naruto's right side. The blond leaned as far away from it as his bonds would allow without getting too close to the Uchiha on his left. He tried to back away but the chains tightened around his raw wrists and Itachi tore another clump of hair free. Naruto was really going to gripe at her about his lack of torture preparation.

Kyuubi's growls were getting quieter in his head and it was making Naruto's panicking worsen. In all the years since his curse had been revealed to him, there had never been a time when Kyuubi was so silent in his head.

"What do you sick bastards want," he ground out between pain clenched teeth, eyes boring into what he was sure was Itachi's face.

"Only to see the look in your eyes as the last of your life drains away, Naruto-kun. Simply that," Itachi replied in what Naruto assumed was the nicest tone he could muster.

Naruto growled. "I'll rip your balls off first!"

"Eh, in case you missed it, you're the one in chains there, Naruto-san," Kisame retorted happily.

"How long will that last, fish face," Naruto spat at him, only to be back handed by the hand that had been buried in his hair. The blond spat out blood before glaring at the place where the Uchiha had been.

"It's really better if you don't insult Kisame. I'm not ready for you to die yet," was the only explanation Itachi gave him.

"What do you want, you asshole," Naruto grunted. He couldn't hear the fox in his head anymore and he was starting to feel faint from the loss of blood.

"To watch you die. After you tell me where my dear little brother is."

Naruto smiled and almost laughed in the Uchiha's face. "Ready to kill your 'dear' brother already? That only took 13 years." He coughed up a mouthful of blood and spit it where Kisame had been standing. "Don't worry, he'll find you soon enough."

"Such spirit," Itachi mused cruelly, reaching under his cloak for a kunai. "Wasted on you."

Naruto's eyes widened as the blade glinted in the meager light. _Kyuubi?_

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This wasn't supposed to end this way. It was going to be much fluffier, but I've learned not to expect them to say the way I intend. 

**Review?**


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